Anna opened her eyes and then immediately squeezed them shut again to avoid being blinded by bright lights. The harsh smell of cleaning products invaded her sinuses and she rolled to her side, burying her face in a starchy pillowcase.
"Anna." a familiar voice said. "Honey, are you feeling sick again?"
Anna tried to decide whether she was feeling sick again. She didn't think so. She tried to figure out where she was. She didn't know. She tried to identify the voice.
"Claudia." Her voice sounded strange to her own ears; raspy and weak.
"Yeah honey, it's me. Grant called me."
Grant. "Grant! Where is he?" Anna tried to sit up and felt like someone had knocked her in the head with a frying pan. Everything went blessedly dark once more.
When she opened her eyes again, a nurse was bustling around the room and Claudia was sitting on the bed with her, wiping her face with a cool cloth. They'd lifted the top part of the bed so she was in a semi-upright position and could see the room better.
"I'm in the hospital," she croaked.
"Yes. Do you remember what happened?"
Anna tried to think. She'd gone to see Grant; to apologize and...she blushed as she remembered what they'd done on his couch, but that didn't explain why she was in a hospital. "There was...a door? I don't know," she said, getting frustrated. "I can't remember. Please just tell me if Grant's okay."
"Of course he is, hon. He's fine. He's talking to the police right now."
Anna's eye shot wide, but she caught herself before sitting up this time. "Is he in trouble?"
"No, he's just giving them a statement."
"Am I okay? Why am I here?" She directed the question at the nurse.
"Yes ma'am, you're gonna be just fine. Someone put a strong sedative in your drink. Probably Rohypnol, but we won't know for sure until we get the lab report back. Fortunately we didn't have to pump your stomach because you pretty much emptied it out on your own. And you have a few bruises, but nothing too bad."
"I don't remember anything," she said shaking her head slowly. "Can you tell me what happened, Claud?"
"I don't really know all the details, Anna. You should talk to someone who was there. Grant will be back soon."
Anna nodded. She wanted to see Grant; needed to see him. She put her hand to her face to push her hair back and winced in pain. Prodding her cheek gingerly with her fingers, she felt the extent of the bruise. It wasn't too bad unless she tried to open her mouth wide.
The door opened and Anna looked up to see Grant and Corie walk in the room along with two uniformed police officers. She sat up a little straighter and tried to brush her hair back into a ponytail with her fingers.
"Miss Webster?" one of the officers asked. He was very tall and broad-chested, a good looking guy with cheerful blue eyes that looked at her with concern.
"Yes." Anna was trying to make eye contact with Grant, but his eyes were locked on the floor. He seemed unnaturally calm, leaning against the far wall with his arms crossed over his chest, the only sign of stress the tight fists he had stuck under his arms.
"I'm Officer Cooper, this is Officer Standen. We won't bother you too much tonight ma'am, but we need to ask you a few questions."
"Okay. I'll try to answer." She was having a hard time concentrating on what the man was saying. Her mind still felt foggy and she was wondering why Grant wouldn't look at her.
"The questions are of a sensitive nature, we can have everyone else leave first if-"
"No, it's okay. I want them here."
"Are you sure ma'am?"
"Yes," she said, confused about why on earth she would want her friends to leave. They knew better than her what had happened tonight.
"Alright," he said, clearing his throat.
"Do you know the man that you left the club with tonight?" the other officer asked. He was an older man with graying hair and a no-nonsense attitude, but his interruption earned him a glare from his younger, taller counterpart.
Anna snapped to full attention. "I left with someone? I don't- I can't-" Suddenly the potential implications of having been drugged began to dawn on her and she instinctively drew the sheet up to her chest, clenching it tightly in her fists.
"It's okay if you don't remember, ma'am. Just say that."
Anna couldn't speak for a moment, paralyzed by the realization that she might have been raped. Her eyes darted from face to face, looking for the answer to a question that she was afraid to ask out loud. The only person whose eye she could catch was Corie, who looked directly at her and almost imperceptibly shook her head no. She took a deep breath, reassured, and focused back on the cop.
"I don't remember, but I wouldn't have left with anyone even if I knew them. I was waiting for Grant," she said, glancing at his face for some sign of acknowledgement. He didn't look up at her, but she saw him wince. Surely he didn't think she would have voluntarily left with someone else. Is that why he wasn't looking at her?
"Right." The cop said and she looked up at the odd tone to his voice. "Have you had unprotected sexual intercourse in the last twenty-four hours?"
Her eyes flew automatically back to Grant, who looked intensely uncomfortable, his jaw muscles working furiously as he stared hard at the floor. "I, um- why do you need to know that?" she asked, blushing feverishly. For a moment she wondered if she should lie, unsure whether she would be getting Grant in trouble, but quickly realized how silly the thought was. It wasn't illegal for them to have sex.
The younger officer cleared his throat again and stepped forward as he spoke to her in a lowered voice. "The doctor ran a rape kit when you first arrived. You were conscious at the time, though you may not remember. There were quite a few minor vaginal lacerations and the lab came back positive for semen, but only from one donor and no spermicide or lubricant from a condom. If you had voluntary intercourse recently we can be reasonably sure you weren't raped."
"Oh." She swallowed hard. "Yeah. I did, yes."
"Okay. That's not conclusive, you understand, so you'll need to talk to the doctors about taking the same measures you would have if you were raped, do you understand what I'm saying?"
"Yes," she whispered. She knew she wasn't ovulating, she had always been regular and had been tracking her fertility carefully since she started sleeping with Grant so pregnancy wasn't a concern, but she would have to get tested for diseases just in case. Claudia's hand squeezed hers hard and she was grateful for it, but she couldn't help wishing it was Grant sitting next to her offering her some kind of comfort. Her eyes stayed locked on his lowered head, afraid she'd miss the slightest glance from him if she looked away.
"Alright. Now, did you voluntarily take any prescription or street drugs tonight?"
"No," Anna said, on the verge of tears. Why wouldn't he just look at her? "I just had a couple of beers..." Her voice trailed off as she had a sudden flash of someone with blonde hair smiling and handing her a beer. "Blonde hair," she said breathlessly. The two cops looked at each other significantly. "He had blonde hair and he wore really strong cologne."
"Is there anything else you can remember?"
Anna closed her eyes and tried to see through the fog in her brain, but eventually shook her head in frustration. "I'm sorry I can't."
"That's alright. Between the witness statements and security video I don't think we'll have any problem with this one. Of course if you do remember anything or you have any questions at all, please give us a call," the young cop said, smiling gently at her before handing her a card.
"Thank you."
The officers left and silence descended on the room, everyone waiting for someone else to speak first. Finally Claudia cleared her throat.
"Well it goes without saying that you have the next couple of days off, Anna. Jesse and I will cover your shifts until you're ready to come back."
"Thanks Claud. I'm sure I'll be fine in a day or two."
Corie's phone rang and she glanced at it before speaking to Grant. "It's Brody."
"Tell him I'll be there in a few."
Corie glanced at Anna and back at Grant in surprise. "Are you-"
He lifted his head to glare at her and she cut herself off and shook her head before walking out the door, answering her phone as she went.
"I need to go close up the club. Claudia, do you think you could take Anna home?"
"No!" The sense of urgency, almost panic, in her voice surprised Anna. But not only did she not want to go home by herself, she had an irrational fear that if she let Grant out of her sight without speaking to him tonight she wouldn't ever see him again. "No," she repeated, a little calmer. "Claud, would you excuse us for just a minute?"
Grant looked up at her for the first time since he'd entered the room, the expression on his face completely unreadable. The relief she felt at finally having some kind of contact with him was tempered by confusion at the calm façade he was showing her. She could tell he was covering up some kind of strong emotion; she just wasn't sure what it was. They stared at each other, his eyes burning into her, while Claudia gathered her things and stepped outside.
Anna slowly sat up in the bed, feeling steadier now; physically if not emotionally. She felt the tears prick her eyes and gritted her teeth to try to stop them. "I'm sorry," she said. "I don't know what I did, but I'm sorry. Can you please just be mad at me tomorrow? I need you right now." The words were barely out of her mouth before she burst into tears.
Grant was there the next second, wrapping his arms around her so tightly she could barely breathe, but she wasn't complaining. She buried her head in his neck and sobbed, releasing all the pent up worry and confusion as he gently stroked her back and hair.
"I'm not mad at you, babe, not at all. I'm just so sorry. You needed me and I wasn't there and I'm so sorry. I should have been there. This never should have happened," he said, the words spilling out of him in a rush. He pulled back and touched the bruise on her cheek gently, his eyes searching hers to reassure himself that she was alright.
"You're not angry?"
"Jesus, no. Well, not at you. I thought you were mad at me for leaving you alone. I'm so sorry I left you, babe."
